This apple cake defies description in a lot of ways, blurring the line between traditional cake that’s quite nice with a scoop of ice cream and coffee cake served straight up. It takes its insane moistness from a swirl of cream poured over the top. And if you’d also care to experience a little textural and taste contrast within the same obscenely moist apple cake, see the note below about selecting apples.–Angie Zoobkoff
What are the best apples for baking?
Wanna experience varying textures within the same obscenely moist apple cake? Try a combination of different types of apples. The authors suggest an array including “Granny Smith (which is quite tart), Macintosh (which is firm), and Cortland (which gets very soft with cooking).” You heard them, folks.
Super Moist Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cake flour, (not self-rising)
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch kosher salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 14 to 18 ounces baking apples* (see NOTE above), peeled, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour a 10-inch round, 2-inch-deep springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Wrap the outside of the pan with several layers of aluminum foil to prevent leaks. Also line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- In a large bowl with a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer, beat 1 1/2 cups sugar and the butter until very light in color, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula and continue to beat until the mixture becomes very light in texture, 3 to 4 minutes more.
- Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping the bowl between additions.
- Sift together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add the milk and dry ingredients to the butter mixture, stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and mix the batter just until smooth. Do not overbeat the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with a rubber spatula. Place the apple slices on the batter, overlapping one another in concentric circles and completely covering the surface of the cake. Repeat layering the apples in concentric circles until all of them are used or you reach almost the top of the pan, whichever happens first. Pour the cream evenly over the apples. Stir together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the cake.
- Place the pan on the prepared baking sheet and bake for anywhere from 55 to 75 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, transfer it to a wire rack, and let the cake cool at least 15 minutes. Gently remove the sides of the pan and let the cake continue to cool to room temperature.
- Invert the cake onto the rack and remove the pan and the parchment paper. Then invert it once more onto a serving platter. Serve the apple cake warm or room temperature. (The cooled apple cake can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.) Originally published September 23, 2003.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I have finally found my “go-to” apple cake. I have long searched for just the right apple cake. It has to have enough apples that it has a great apple taste, it has to be moist, it has to be substantial, and it has to be sweet enough to be a dessert but not too sweet so it can serve as a breakfast pastry. This cake fulfills all of that. I know that this is a cake I will make many more times.
This super moist apple cake was a great way to use the abundance of apples in the fall. Delicious warm, room temperature, and cool, this cake was a perfect breakfast, dessert, and snack. The tempting cinnamon-y goodness made it difficult to resist at any time of the day.
Sometimes a recipe title doesn’t really tell you everything, but in the case of the super moist apple cake, it sure does. The cake was super moist and topped with layers of delicious apples. It’s one of those cakes that’s pretty dense, which often equals dry. But again, as the name implies, this cake is super moist.
The cake was really good. It was very moist and had a wonderful flavor. This was a fairly easy recipe to make.
I made this super moist apple cake late Saturday evening. We served it at a friends’ house for Sunday afternoon dessert and I had the last delicious slice of it on Wednesday morning with coffee. So, yes, this is definitely a cake that is delicious, tender but dense (love that!), and keeps very well for several days at room temperature covered on my cake stand. For a guy like me who loves these types of cakes (dense rather than fluffy, unadorned rather than frosted, rich, and with some fruit inclusions), this recipe is a keeper.
Super moist is an apt descriptor for this lovely apple cake. The vanilla flavor and moist crumb make an excellent base for a fantastic apple and cinnamon top!
David, I have made this recipe more than 20 years ago! I’m surprised and happy to see it again. Thank you, David, for publishing again this recipe. Tomorrow I’ll make it. All my greetings for you and your family.
Luz, you are more than welcome!
Can I omit cream cheese and use either cottage cheese, farmer cheese or combo if both?
Sverlana, I wouldn’t substitute those other cheeses. They have different water percentages compared to cream cheese. Also cream cheese has some stabilizers which also helped with the texture of the cake.
This cake is amazing! I didn’t have the pan in the recipe so I used a 9″ x 13″11 pan.
It worked well, less baking time. This recipe goes into the favorites category!!
Thanks, Liz. We so appreciate you letting us know that it worked well in the 9-by-13 pan.